Manufacturer Notes and Quotes from Texas 2

Ford Quotes:

P) KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Bush Beer Ford Mustang - MAN, THREE TIMES YOU WERE STUCK BACK IN TRAFFIC.  WERE YOU WORRIED IN THOSE MOMENTS YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GET BACK TO THE FRONT? “Well, we had a bad restart one time when we got buried back there, but I think as we came in, we put another set of tires on, we were really able to make up some time.  Our car was just so fast through 3 and 4, as long as I could keep my momentum up, I could get up beside him.  So it was definitely fast, and speed made up for our Ducks Unlimited Busch Beer Ford Mustang tonight what we lacked a little bit in handling.”

HOW CRITICAL WAS THIS TO GET BACK TO MIAMI AND A SECOND SHOT AT A CHAMPIONSHIP? “Well, we've already been going down the road.  They've already built the car, picked a direction.  Like we talked about earlier, we've got so many things that ‑‑ so many things that you had to choose from from an aero standpoint, and Homestead is such a unique racetrack.  We've already been to the simulator, we've already built the car, and now we've just got to make sure that we do what we think is right and go with our gut and see what happens.”

AGAIN TODAY KEELAN SET THE AIR PRESSURES BEFORE THE RACE AND AGAIN YOU WIN. “Yeah, I think he's three for three or four for four.  I think all four races he's set the air pressure this year, so if anything we're helping him with math.  It's fun to have him at the racetrack.  Had a fun weekend.  They have a great zoo here, in case you were wondering.  We didn't do much yesterday. But just really proud of everybody on this team.  Just got to thank everybody from Busch Beer, from Hunt Brothers Pizza, Mobil 1, Jimmy John's, everybody from Haas Automation and Stewart‑Haas Racing, Roush Yates engines for the last‑minute engine change and the things that they worked on to give us all the speed we had here, and it was definitely fun to drive.”

(P) RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Wabash National Ford Mustang - FINISHED 8th  “It was a long night. We struggled really bad all night with track position and then I felt like even when we got a little bit of it we still weren’t very good. We tried a lot of things tonight and they didn’t really work. Unfortunately we didn’t really get many stage points and the 4 winning didn’t help our cause but we have to run better than that anyway.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PHOENIX? “Gotta win. Hopefully we go do that.”

YOU HAD A WICKED HANDLING RACE CAR AND IT SEEMED WORSE WHEN YOU WERE TRYING TO GET RYAN NEWMAN. IS IT A MATTER OF COURTESY WHEN YOU ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS? “I am not in his head. Ryan is Ryan and he is going to race hard. I was mad that I had a massive run up top and he just turned right and it made me jump out of the gas and get tight and hit the fence. That is what I was mad about. I was fine with the racing before that but when someone has a big run like that it is like, ‘C’Mon.’ I don't know. I don't really care. I forgot about it until you brought it up to be honest.”

(P) JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford Mustang - FINISHED 4th - HOW WAS IT WITH THE PJ1?  “It isn’t the PJ1 it is when you get a little above where it isn’t activated or it is really dirty. I believe it is dirty. I believe it is so sticky that the dust that comes off the cars to that part of the track just sticks. Until it is cleaned off it is like ice. Literally ice in Texas. It is just a tough deal when you get on it. I went for a hell of a ride early in the race getting a little too aggressive with it. It wasn’t a bad thing, don't take this the wrong way. It wasn’t a bad thing on the race track. It helped the track to be wider and be able to put on a better race for the fans but if you got a little much it was, look out.”

KYLE BUSCH JUST SAID HE WILL HAVE TO RACE YOU NEXT WEEKEND AND YOU ARE TOUGH TO BEAT: “It is going to be a good battle for sure. We are definitely racing for that last spot just in case someone behind us outside of the top-four wins. Then it will come down to the 18 and the 22 to try to get for that last spot. It is going to be fun. I am looking forward to the battle. It will be a good time. Obviously the 18 team is good and Kyle is a good driver but I think we are a great team and they are beatable just like everybody else.”

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang - FINISHED 2nd  “Our Smithfield Ford Mustang was really fast. I am really proud of the effort by everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, Roush Yates Engines and Ford Motor Company. Our cars were really, really good from the time we unloaded here and we all came with a little something different, just trying to learn and get ahead for next year. I think we learned some stuff. I am really proud of all the guys on my team. We have had such a bad run of luck the last two months and it is so nice to come here and just execute all night and have a fast car, lead laps and win a stage and run up front. We had a great night on pit road. I did my part on restarts and on and off pit road and just an all-around solid night. We can build on that.”

YOU WERE RELENTLESS TONIGHT: “Yeah, for a little while I thought we had a car capable of winning. When Harvick got a good restart there and was able to keep pace with us I knew I was in trouble. His car was a good bit faster than ours in clean air.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 41 Walmart Family Mobile Ford Mustang - FINISHED 3rd  “That was a very solid night and I am very happy with the performance and speed that we brought from the shop. Everyone back at the shop did a great job. We knew we would be fast here. We had a solid performance here last time. We did a good job. We had good execution and a good clean day. I am very happy for Stewart-Haas Racing and the 41 Ford Mustang was pretty sporty. I am very happy for Kevin (Harvick) getting his ticket for Homestead.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Wurth Ford Mustang - (RETIRED FROM ACCIDENT ON LAP 52)

“I just busted my butt. I feel terrible for Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.), he didn’t deserve to get caught up in it. I was just real loose and trying to make something happen. When you are getting passed by other cars you kind of lose your confidence and you try something and I knew better. My butt told me I would wreck if I do that. I was getting passed and swung for the fence and I hit it. It just sucks. I am kind of embarrassed to do that. I was just trying to make something happen for my team and swung too hard.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang - (RETIRED FROM ACCIDENT ON LAP 52)

“We got our car better there and we were running top-five but with the flip-flop of track position we made an adjustment and I got running 1 and 2 really good and passed some really good cars. Then we got around to Brad (Keselowski) there in 1 and 2 and he got loose underneath me and almost crashed us down there. We lost a lot of track position. Then going into turn 3 there I was running the top and saw him getting loose. When I checked up my car got loose as well. I was just trying to avoid him and it got mine sideways. It is a bummer of a weekend. Our Fastenal Mustang was really fast and I was having fun until then.”

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT TRACTION COMPOUND AND HOW IT IS ACTING TODAY? “It is coming in really well. I feel like it was a little tight the first run to run up there in 1 and 2. I could run up there in 3 and 4 as the tires wore out a little bit we put fuel on it and our car got more free after we made an adjustment and I felt I could really run 1 and 2 really well. I needed to probably run the bottom of 3 and 4 to be optimal lap time for us but I passed the 11 and the 22 and was passing the 2 there in 1 and 2 on the top. I felt really good, it is going to continue to come in.”

Toyota Quotes

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

Can you evaluate your run in today’s race?

“Just a battle. We felt pretty good after practice going into this thing that we’d be competitive. We were not very good and then we got some track position and we were hanging on okay. Then, we got back in the pack again and just had one run where it got really, really tight and lost all of our track position again and then it was just a battle. Made huge adjustments. We’ve not adjusted on a car that much all year long and we still never got it perfect, but definitely a lot better at the end. We just fought hard and never gave up on it all day and came home with a decent finish.”

 

Did this race mean anything to your team today after winning at Martinsville?

“There’s a lot of learning for next year going on here. Not sure what happened. We had a decent car at times, it just chattered the front tires way too bad all day long. So, I’m not sure what that was all about. We salvaged a decent finish there. It was a battle all day and we had to work hard for sixth. Just glad it’s over. Wish we could’ve been better, but learned a lot for next year which is important.”

How was your race today?

“It was a tough day for us. We expected to run pretty well here after practice and then at the start of the race it was just extremely tight and it stayed that way most of the day. We gained some track position and we could hang on up towards the front. Lacking way too much front grip. We made more adjustments today than I think we have in two years combined. We got it better at the end for sure, but it still wasn’t right. We missed something somewhere. Overall, fought hard and gave it our best to the bitter end there and we got a decent finish there. So, hopefully we learned some things out of what we did tonight for next year.”

What was the PJ1 like when you ran up high on the track?

“It was okay. I thought it was certainly a better race with it than it would’ve been without it. I think that’s probably the key takeaway here. I wish we could get it to be a little bit wider. Only two lanes is a little bit tough. We need three or so to really put on a good race. It was definitely a step in the right direction.”

 

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finshing Position: 7th

What is your mood at the end of this race?

“I don’t know, I was running wide open there and those guys were just driving away. We got what we got out of our M&M’s Camry tonight. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) made some good adjustments. The whole first set of tires was just ugly for us. Once we got past that and got some other tires on the car, it seemed to go a little bit better. It was hard battling some of them guys up there and up through traffic and what not. We should have run third and ran out of gas and starved the pump there at the end. Then I was stalled on pit road. That cost us four or five spots there.”

How do you feel heading to Phoenix next weekend to get back to victory lane?

“We all know one guy is going to move through on points and we have to do whatever we have to do in order to be that guy. If we can obviously go to Phoenix and have a strong run and be able to go out there and win, that will put ourselves through as well too. We’re two (points) on the 22 (Joey Logano) so it’s going to be a race between the 18 and the 22, imagine that.”

 

How did you feel the PJ1 came in throughout the race?

“It was slick early and certainly got better as the night went on and as the runs progressed. It was slick on restarts as well too just with new tires and it not activated I guess. Took a few laps.”

Does tonight’s race give you a good cushion going to Phoenix?

“We were going to run third and then it ran out down the back and starved the pump and it was out of gas. It wasn’t running when I got to my pit stall so it took them to engage to start filling it full of fuel for me to crank it over and get gas to it. That sucked and cost us four or five spots on the track I guess. That was about six points because the 22 (Logano), we flipped there. We were ahead of him and that would have been a great eight-point cushion on the 22 going into next week, but now it’s only a two-point cushion. That’s who we’re racing is the 22. No matter what anyone else does, if we finish ahead of him then we’re in.”

You have good memories at Phoenix, how does that play into next week?

“The last couple times we’ve been to Phoenix, we’ve run pretty good. Hopefully, that can translate to this time around again. We were good at Richmond and normally Richmond translates good there. Loudon (N.H.), that translates there. I’m optimistic about it. I think we can do okay. It’s just a matter of running another clean race and not having mistakes.”

 

ERIK JONES, No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

Talk about your finish.

“It was okay, the car was alright. Got caught out there on pit road and had to restart pretty far back with 90 to go and just drive back to where we could. Kind of a tough day. The Sport Clips Camry fired off the race well and just kind of lost it through the race. We’ll go on to Phoenix and hopefully be a little bit better.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 28th

What happened when the car got away from you?

“Just got up in that stuff before it was really broke in. Just lost control. That’s all there is to it. Proud of the whole FedEx team for putting their best effort forward so we could be there at the end. Did the best we could and we’ll go to Phoenix and try to win.”

 

How confident are you to go to Phoenix and win to transfer to Homestead?

“The car and the effort will be there, that’s for sure. There’s no doubt in my mind that we can go there and win. In these circumstances, I like the challenge. We’re going to go out there and give it our best shot and put our best foot forward and see if we can’t get a win next week.”